This invention relates to a system which impinges a rotating water jet on a wall, and which adheres to the wall due to a vacuum force.
In the prior art, vertical walls such as are typically found in ship hulls are cleaned by systems which move along the walls and apply treatment to the surface. In particular, the systems are used to remove paint.
In one known type of system, a vacuum force adheres the moving system to the wall. The walls may be rather high, and the vacuum sources are often remote from the system. In the past, the system has moved and turned along the wall, and the connection to the vacuum source has sometimes become twisted, or misaligned, between the source and the moving system.
In such systems, it is difficult to ensure the system maintains contact on the surface to be cleaned while it moves. In the past the vacuum force holding the system on the wall may sometimes be lost due to inadequate sealing.
In addition, the proposed systems to date have not adequately cleaned the wall while still providing sufficient holding force.
The present invention is directed to a system which applies a rotating fluid jet onto a surface to be cleaned, and also provides a vacuum to remove fluid from the rotating fluid jet along with material (typically paint) removed from the surface to be cleaned. In a preferred embodiment both the fluid jet and the vacuum source are mounted on a central portion which remains stationary relative to a moving base. The moving base supports the central portion, but is capable of turning relative to the central portion without turning the central portion.
Thus, when the system is moved along a wall, the base and the entire system can change directions without changing the orientation of the central portion. The fluid lines leading to the vacuum source, and the rotating jets, etc. do not change orientation. In this way, the present invention thus ensures that the orientation will be predictable and will not become twisted.
In other features of this invention, the vacuum source is provided between two generally cylindrical walls. An inner cylindrical wall surrounds the rotating fluid jet, and a second cylindrical wall is spaced outwardly of the first cylindrical wall. A vacuum chamber is defined between the two walls. A curved seal is positioned radially outwardly of the second cylindrical wall and defines the end of the vacuum chamber. A source of additional fluid pressure is provided within the vacuum chamber. Preferably, the additional source is provided by a valve extending through the second cylindrical wall to communicate with the outside atmosphere. As long as the vacuum source is sufficiently low, the valve opens allowing air flow into the vacuum chamber, through a hole in an end wall. The vacuum chamber is preferably defined by a slanted end wall which is spaced toward the surface to be cleaned at the location of the additional fluid flow, and extend away from the surface to be cleaned in both circumferential directions from the hole. In this way, air is brought into the vacuum chamber and along the slanted wall to assist the flow of the fluid and removed surface materials to the vacuum source. This improves the ability to clean and remove material from the surface to be cleaned.
In a most preferred embodiment, a seal which contacts the wall to be cleaned, and which is stationary with the base, is formed of a plurality of bristles which are arranged in a very dense arrangement. The bristles allow air flow through the seal, but limit the air flow such that the air is only from outside the seal into the vacuum chamber created by the vacuum source. The bristles provide a very good seal against the wall, and ensure good adherence to the wall by the wall cleaning system.
In addition, both seal embodiments are attached to the base at a cylindrical neck portion. The seal is preferably formed with a cylindrically upwardly extending portion which is received on the neck portion. In this way, a clamp can easily clamp the seal onto the neck such that the seal may be removed as a unit for simple cleaning.
A preferred embodiment of this invention includes many other features. By studying the following drawings and specification one will identify many other beneficial features.